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United States

Energised by last year's election victory which mobilised the Christian conservative vote, the American Right has been confidently pushing a moral agenda which puts education at the heart of a battle to change US culture.

While its emergence as an important economic and political sector is lauded by many, the fact that this group is also experiencing an upsurge in cases of domestic violence against women is often ignored.

Soon after I began my study of the
religious life of the Lebanese Shi’a residing in the eastern section of
Dearborn, Michigan, I occasionally heard rumors that mut’a (temporary or
pleasure marriage) was being encouraged by the religious leaders (shaikhs) in
the community.

The US has threatened to withdraw from the Cairo Programme of Action of 1994 unless the words reproductive health services and reproductive rights are taken out or changed. This is a shocking development which is a threat to women’s rights and health.